Harry Potter and Shafik

Chapter 130 Forming a Group to Lobby Horace

Professor Lingxu expanded several businesses.

First of all, he asked Hilbert to buy several shops in Diagon Alley that specialize in the production of oak-aged mead, pineapple preserves, and velvet smoking shirts. Hilbert doubted that these things were normal except for pineapple preserves. , (the old bee will like to eat) who will like the other two?

Professor Lingxu smiled slightly and said, "Someone will like it."

One day, Gan Gellert Dove and Taoist Lingxu came to the Shafik Manor. It has to be said that the medical level of Muggles has reached a very high level. was healed.

"Are you two okay?" Hilbert asked.

"Go to your shop and get the best, best oak-aged mead, pineapple preserves, and velvet smoking-shirts, we've got work to do this evening!" said Gandalf.

"Tonight? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"You don't have to worry about it, you will understand when you get there."

It was almost ten o'clock.

Hilbert, who had already had dinner, took the three best items and returned to his bedroom. "One for me, and one for Gellert. We've got them all. We're ready to go."

--call out--

Village of Badley Barberton.

"Where is this place?"

"The village of Budley Barberton."

"Why don't you go?"

"Wait, the guest will arrive soon."

Suddenly two figures appeared in front of them, Dumbledore and Harry Potter who had just disapparated.

"Harry!"

"Hilbert! And the professor! How are you all! This is..."

"Gandalf, our new Professor of the Protection of Magical Creatures." Dumbledore introduced the word "Professor of the Protection of Magical Creatures" to Harry deliberately.

"Let's go."

Harry had just Apparated with Dumbledore, and he couldn't breathe at all, his chest seemed to be tightly bound by several iron hoops.His eyeballs were pushed back into his head, his eardrums were pressed deep into his skull, and he sucked in the cold night air, opening his tearful eyes.He felt as if he had been squeezed out of a very narrow rubber tube just now.

"Drink some of this, Harry!" Hilbert handed the recovery potion to Harry.

It was only at this time that Hilbert took a good look at the village. The place where they were standing now looked like the yard of an abandoned village, with an old war monument and a few benches erected in the middle.There are few families in the distance.

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked, looking down at him with concern. "It's a feeling that takes getting used to."

"I'm fine," said Harry, rubbing his ears, which seemed to him to leave Privet Drive reluctantly, "but I seem to prefer flying on a broomstick."

Dumbledore smiled, wrapped his traveling cloak around his neck tightly, and said, "This way."

Walking briskly, he passed an empty tavern and a few houses.It was almost midnight by the clock of a nearby church.

The three big men walked in front, Harry and Hilbert chatted behind,

"Your scar...does it hurt all the time?" Harry subconsciously reached his forehead and touched the lightning-shaped scar.

"No," he said, "I've been wondering, too. Now that Voldemort is back, I thought the scar would always be burning.

"It's been surprisingly quiet recently?"

"Maybe it's a sign of a storm." They turned a corner, past a telephone box and a bus shelter.

"Where is this place? Hill?"

"The village of Budley Barberton. They said they came here to visit guests and persuade one of Dumbledore's retired colleagues to come back to work and return to Hogwarts."

"Then why did you call us out?"

"Oh, I think we'll put you to good use," said Dumbledore vaguely. "Turn left, Harry."

They walked up a steep, narrow street lined with rows of houses.The cold that had enveloped Privet Drive for two weeks did not linger here.Harry thought of the Dementors, and looked back over his shoulder, grabbing the wand in his pocket to embolden himself.

"Professor, why can't we just Apparate to your old colleague's house?"

"Because that would be as rude as kicking open the door of someone's house," said Dumbledore. "Politeness requires us to offer other wizards the chance to refuse us. However, most wizarding houses have magic to ward off unwelcome apparators. For example, at Hogwarts, Apparition is not allowed in the castle or in the hunting grounds."

"Let's turn left again. Children," said Gandalf.

Behind them, church bells struck midnight.Harry wondered: why didn't Dumbledore think it was rude to visit an old colleague so late?But now that the conversation is under way, he has more pressing questions to ask.

"I received a pamphlet from the Ministry of Magic during my holidays, talking about safety measures against Death Eaters..."

"I received it too, do you find it useful?"

"Not very useful."

"Well... that's right," said Harry. "By the way, Inferi are also mentioned in the pamphlet. What are they anyway? The pamphlet doesn't quite make it clear."

"They are corpses," said Dumbledore quietly, "dead corpses enchanted and in the service of Dark wizards. However, Inferi have not been seen for a long time, and have not been seen since Voldemort's last fall." Well... Needless to say, he killed a lot of people and created a lot of Inferi. Here we are, Harry, here it is..."

As soon as Dumbledore mentioned the Yin Corpse, Taoist Lingxu suddenly thought of a person, and asked Gandalf and Dumbledore, "Can the Yin Corpse turn back into a human?"

"I haven't heard of it, I guess it can."

They approached a neat little stone house set in a garden.Harry was too preoccupied with the ghastly claims about Inferi to pay attention to his surroundings.When they got to the gate, Dumbledore stopped suddenly, and Harry was caught off guard and bumped into him.

"Oh, my. Oh, my, my, my."

Harry followed Dumbledore's gaze towards the well-kept path, and his heart sank.The hinges of the front door were open and the door hung askew.

Dumbledore looked around the street, but there seemed to be no one there.

"Everyone pull out their wands! Don't relax!" Taoist Lingxu said.Gandalf drew a wand from his bosom (Made by Hilbert, 15 inches, elderberry, mixed core. Same core as Hilbert's wand.)
Taoist Lingxu drew out the golden sword with his right hand, and condensed a ball of Samadhi real fire with his left hand.Hilbert took out his wand from his waist and kept moving his left fingers, which was the prerequisite action for using the Broken Grip.

Pushing open the front door, he walked quickly and quietly up the garden path, Harry following behind.Then Dumbledore slowly pushed open the front door, wand in hand, ready to strike.

"Lumos!" The tip of Dumbledore's wand lit up, revealing a narrow hallway.There is also an open door on the left.Dumbledore walked into the drawing room, holding his shiny wand aloft, Harry following closely behind.

In front of them was a mess, a grandfather clock was smashed at their feet, the clock face was cracked, and the pendulum lay a little farther away, like an abandoned sword.A piano was overturned on the ground, its keys scattered around.Nearby, fragments of a broken chandelier gleamed.The cushions were strewn about in a mess, deflated, with feathers poking out of the rips.Broken glass and shards of china were scattered like powder.

Dumbledore raised his wand a little higher, illuminating the walls, and the wallpaper was splashed with dark red goo.Harry took a small breath, Dumbledore heard it, and looked around. "It's not pretty, is it?" he said gravely. "Yeah, there's been a horrible thing going on here."

Dumbledore walked cautiously into the middle of the room, examining the shattered fragments at his feet.Harry followed, looking around, vaguely apprehensive about seeing something horrible behind a broken piano or an overturned sofa, but he saw no sign of a corpse.

"Maybe there was a fight, and then—they dragged him away, didn't they, Professor?" Harry guessed, trying not to imagine how badly a man had been injured to be so badly wounded on the wall. The blood was splattered on the high places.

"There, that armchair." Taoist Lingxu and Gandalf pointed to the armchair lying on the ground in front of them.Dumbledore walked forward with the Elder Wand, and it was too late and then too soon, Dumbledore shot suddenly, and plunged the tip of the wand into the cushion of the bulging armchair, and the chair let out a scream: "Ouch!"

"Good evening, Horace," Dumbledore said, straightening up again.

Harry's mouth fell open in surprise.It was just an armchair, but in the blink of an eye it turned into a bald, fat old man squatting there.He rubbed his belly and looked at Dumbledore through one painful, tearful eye.

"Don't look, Professor Horace's transfiguration is higher than that of Professor McGonagall, he can turn into a chair at will." Hilbert hit Harry with his elbow.

"You don't need to stick so hard with your wand." He said angrily, struggling to get up, "It hurts me to death."

The wand's light fell on his gleaming bald head, his bulging eyes, his walrus-like silver beard, and the shiny buttons on the maroon velvet over his lavender pajamas.The top of his head only reached Dumbledore's chin.

"How did you reveal it?" He asked gruffly, standing up staggeringly, still rubbing his belly.It seems that he has an astonishingly thick skin. You must know that he was found out by pretending to be an armchair just now.

"My dear Horace," said Dumbledore, seemingly amused, "if the Death Eaters had really come, they would have left the Dark Mark over the house."

The wizard patted his broad forehead with his plump hand.

"The Dark Mark," he muttered, "I felt like something was missing... Ah, yes. But it was too late. I just adjusted the seat cover when you entered the room."

He sighed heavily, and blew the tips of his two beards up.

"Shall I clean it up for you?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Please," said the man.They stood back to back, one tall and thin, one short and stout, and both waved their wands in unison.

The furniture jumped back to its original position one by one, the decorations returned to their original shape in mid-air, the feathers drilled back into the cushions, and the damaged books were automatically repaired, and they were neatly arranged on the bookshelves.The oil lamp flew to the small table by the wall and was lit again.A large pile of broken silver picture frames flew across the room, glittering, and landed on a writing table, shining like new again.All the broken, torn, and gaping places in the room were restored to original condition.The smudges on the wall are also automatically wiped clean.

"By the way, what kind of blood is that?" asked Dumbledore, over the sound of the pendulum of a grandfather clock that had just been repaired.

"On the wall? It's dragon blood." The wizard named Horace yelled back as the chandelier bounced back to the ceiling with a deafening creaking and tinkling sound.

With the final jingle of the piano, the room finally became quiet.

"Yes, dragon blood," said the wizard chatty.

"My last bottle, the current price is surprisingly expensive. However, it may still be usable." He walked to the sideboard with heavy steps, picked up a small crystal bottle on the top of the cabinet, and looked carefully at the light. Look at the viscous liquid inside.

"Well, kinda dirty." He put the vial back on the sideboard and sighed.

"Horace, let me introduce you to a few people." Dumbledore pointed to the four people in front of him.

"This is Professor Lingxu, you have seen him before."

"Hello Professor, see you again" ×2
"Is this Mr. Shafiq who won the Order of Merlin?" Horace asked.

"Yes, he is Professor Lingxu's apprentice."

"Hello, Professor Slughorn. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please accept your kindness." Hilbert and Horace handed over the three-piece suit after shaking hands.He knew at the first sight of Horace that these were Horace's favorite three things.

"Oh, it's my favorite oak-aged mead, candied pineapple and velvet smoking shirt. Thank you very much, Mr. Shafiq."

"Horace, this is..."

"Ho," he said, turning his big round eyes at Harry's forehead, and the lightning-shaped scar on it, "ho!"

"Harry Potter."

Slughorn turned to Dumbledore with an alert look on his face.

"You think that's enough to convince me, don't you? I tell you, Albus, the answer is no!"

He pushed Harry away and walked over, turning his face firmly to the side, as if resisting some temptation.

"I suppose we could at least have a drink?" asked Dumbledore. "For the old days?" Slughorn hesitated.

"Okay, just have a drink," he said stiffly.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry and led him towards a chair.It was a chair much like the one Slughorn had just impersonated, with a freshly lit fire and a bright oil lamp beside it.

Harry sat down in the chair, and he had the feeling that Dumbledore, for some reason, was trying to keep him out of the way.Because Professor Lingxu, Hilbert and Professor Gandalf were sitting in a semi-shady place drinking wine and tea quietly.Sure enough, when Slughorn finished dealing with the bottles and glasses and turned his face again, his eyes fell on Harry.

"Hmph," he quickly looked away, as if he was afraid that his eyes would be hurt, "here—" He handed a glass to Dumbledore who had already sat down, pushed the tray in front of Harry, and sat down. into a pile of soft cushions on the sofa that had just been restored, and fell into silence with a stern face.His legs were too short to reach the ground.

"Well, Horace, how are you these days?" asked Dumbledore.

"Not very well," said Slughorn at once. "I can't breathe. Asthma and rheumatism, my legs don't work as well as they used to. Well, that's to be expected. A man is old and useless." .”

"However, you must have been quick enough to prepare such a welcome scene in such a short period of time." Dumbledore said, "You won't be alerted for more than three minutes, right?"

Slughorn said, half exasperated, half smug: "Two minutes. I was in the shower and didn't hear the alarm that my invasion spell had been disarmed. But," he said sternly, as if regaining his composure, "it's not true. Deny it, I'm an old man, Albus. A tired old man entitled to a quiet life and a few creature comforts."

He certainly has no shortage of creature comforts, Harry thought, looking at the furnishings in the room.The room was crowded and messy, but no one would say it wasn't comfortable.There are ottomans, ottomans, drinks and books, as well as boxes of chocolates and piles of bulging cushions.If Harry hadn't known who lived here, he would have guessed it was a fussy dame.

"You're not as old as I am, Horace," said Dumbledore.

"Yeah, maybe you should consider retirement yourself," Slughorn said bluntly.His pale green eyes were fixed on Dumbledore's wounded hand. "It can be seen that the reaction is not as quick as before."

"You're right," said Dumbledore quietly, shaking up his sleeves to reveal the tips of his charred and blackened fingers.Harry looked and felt a strange stabbing pain in the back of his neck. "I'm obviously duller than I used to be. But on the other hand..."

Taoist Lingxu glanced, and when he saw Dumbledore's charred and blackened fingers, he frowned slightly, quickly pinched with his left hand, and heaved a sigh of relief.

He shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, as if to say that old age has its advantages.That's when Harry noticed that Dumbledore was wearing a ring on his uninjured hand that he had never seen him wear before.

The ring was large, crudely made of what seemed to be gold, and set with a heavy black stone with a crack in the middle.Slughorn's eyes rested on the ring for a moment, too, and Harry saw a slight frown on his brow, and several lines formed on his broad brow.

"Have the Death Eaters been bothering you a lot lately?"

"What do the Death Eaters want my useless old bone for?" Slughorn asked rhetorically.

"I suppose they want you to use your ingenuity for repression, torture and murder," said Dumbledore. "Can you say they haven't come to recruit you?"

Slughorn gave Dumbledore a savage look for a moment, then murmured: "I didn't give them a chance. I've been erratic for a year. Never staying in one place for more than a week. From a Muggle dwelling Moved to another Muggle house - the owner of this house is on vacation in the Canary Islands. I'm so comfortable here, I can't bear to leave. It's easy once you get the hang of it, they don't have to pry mirrors, and with those ridiculous burglar alarms, you just cast a Freezing spell on them, and keep the neighbors from seeing the piano when it's brought in."

"Ingenious," said Dumbledore. "But isn't that kind of exhausting life for a useless? Gwartz—"?
"If you want to tell me that I live more peacefully in that nasty school, Albus, you might as well save your energy and stop talking! Yes, I've been running around XZ, but since many I've heard some bizarre rumors since Lores Umbridge left! If that's how you treat teachers now—"

"Professor Umbridge has clashed with our centaurs," said Dumbledore. "I suppose, Horace, you wouldn't be walking into the Forbidden Forest and calling a bunch of angry centaurs 'dirty' Dirty bastard' go."

"She did such a thing?" Slughorn said. "What a fool, I always hated her." Harry laughed softly, and Dumbledore and Slughorn twisted. Look over at him.

"Sorry," said Harry quickly, "it's just - I don't like her either."

"At least we think it's okay, she's been nice to Slytherin, and with Umbridge around, Gryffindor was quiet for a while." ×2
Dumbledore stood up suddenly.

"Are you leaving?" Slughorn asked immediately expectantly.

"No, I just wanted to ask if I could use your bathroom," said Dumbledore.

"Oh," said Slughorn, obviously disappointed, "it's the second door on the left down the hall."

Dumbledore walked across the room.The room fell silent as the door closed behind him.After a moment Slughorn stood up, but seemed uncertain what to do.He stole a glance at Harry, then strode over to the fireplace, turned his back on the fire, and roasted his big ass.

Horace turned to Harry, "Your eyes are very much like your mother's. As a teacher, one should not be partial to students, but I was partial to her. Your mother, Lily Evans, was the brightest I ever taught. One of my students. Lively and lovely. A charming girl. I often say to her that she should be in my college. I often get very rude answers from her."

"Which college are you in?"

"I was Head of Slytherin," said Slughorn.

"Oh, come on," he said, seeing the expression on Harry's face, and immediately waggling a stubby finger at him, "don't be hostile to me for that! You must be like her, I suppose, right?" Ryffindor, right? Yes, generally from generation to generation. But there are exceptions. Ever heard of Sirius Black?"

"He's Harry's godfather, my cousin."

"The Blacks are in our house, but Sirius is in Gryffindor! What a pity - he's a very talented boy. His brother Regulus was in our house when he entered, If only both of them were with me."

"Of course, your mother was Muggle-born. I couldn't believe it when I found out. I thought she must be purebred for being so good."

"I have a best friend who is also a Muggle-born," said Harry, "and she was the top student of the year."

"It's strange how it happens sometimes, isn't it?" said Slughorn.

"Don't you think I'm biased!" he said. "No, no, no! Didn't I just say that your mother was one of my favorite students in my life? And Dirk was a class below her." Cresswell - now Head of the Goblin Liaison Office - was also a Muggle-born, a highly qualified student, and still regularly gives me valuable inside information from Gringotts!"

With a smug smile on his face, he jumped up and pointed to the many shiny photo frames on the cabinet, each of which contained a moving little figure.

"It's all my former students, it's all signed photos. You'll see Barnabas Guffey, the editor of the Daily Prophet, who's always interested in hearing my thoughts on current affairs. And the bee Ambrosius Froome at Dukes Candy Shop - Every year on my birthday he sends me a gift basket because I introduced him to Ciceron Hakis that year and got him His first job! And the back - you can see it by stretching your neck - is Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies... people often wonder why I'm with the Harpies The friendship between the players is so good, as long as I want, I can get free tickets!"

Having said that, he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Do any of these people know where to find you, and can send you something?" Harry asked, unable to help but wonder, given the gift basket full of candy, Quidditch tickets, and asking for his opinion and advice. How could the Death Eaters not be able to track down Slughorn if those people could find Slughorn?The smile on Slughorn's face disappeared as suddenly as the blood on the wall.

"Of course not," he said, looking down at Harry, "I haven't been in touch with anyone for a year."

"However... These days, prudent wizards try not to show their faces. Dumbledore has a point, but serving at Hogwarts at this time is tantamount to publicly declaring that I support the Order of the Phoenix! Although I believe they are brave and fearless , admirable, but I'm not much of a fan of mortality—"?
"You don't have to join the Order of the Phoenix to teach at Hogwarts." Hilbert said, with a hint of ridicule in his tone.It was hard for him to sympathize with Slughorn's pampered life when he thought of Sirius hiding in a cave and eating rats to survive. "Most of the teachers weren't members of the Order, and none of them were killed—unless, of course, you count Quirrell, but he deserved it, because he worked for Voldemort."

"Hmm...cough cough, allow me to interject, Professor Slughorn, if you don't agree to Dumbledore's appointment at Hogwarts, I don't think this Professor Gandalf will let you go, he has a bad temper Not very good." Taoist Lingxu interrupted their conversation

"Horace! I suddenly remembered that I forgot to introduce this friend. He is Gandalf. He is from Germany. He immigrated to England with his family when he was young. Now he has agreed to serve at Hogwarts. Some things are inconvenient Say it in front of the child, please come with me." Dumbledore suddenly came out of the bathroom and said.

The three of them came upstairs and set up the banning magic.Harry Potter and Hilbert downstairs couldn't hear anything at all.Half an hour later, Professor Horace went downstairs with the trembling support of Dumbledore and Taoist Lingxu, as if he had been frightened by something, followed by Professor Gandalf with an angry face.

"It's time for us to go, alas, I'm sorry you won't take the job, Horace," said Dumbledore, raising his uninjured hand in a farewell gesture, if you could come back, Horace Gwartz will be delighted. We have greatly enhanced security precautions, and you are welcome to come and take a look at it any time you wish."

"Okay... well... you're too polite... I said..."

"Goodbye then."

They had just reached the front door when they heard a shout behind them.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Dumbledore turned around and saw Slughorn standing at the door of the living room, panting.

"Are you willing to come back to work?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Slughorn impatiently, "I must be crazy, but yes, I would."

"Great," said Dumbledore, beaming with joy. "Then, Horace, we'll see you on September [-]st."

"Well, no problem," Slughorn muttered.As they walked along the garden path, Slughorn's voice came again behind them.

"I'll ask for a raise, Dumbledore!" Dumbledore chuckled softly.The garden gate shut itself behind them, and they walked down the hill through the black, curling mist.

"Well done, Harry and Hilbert!" said Dumbledore.

"Horace likes material things," Dumbledore went on, and Harry didn't have to voice his inner thoughts, "and likes to associate with famous, successful, powerful people. He likes the kind of The feeling of being at his mercy. He himself has never wanted to be in charge, but prefers to take a back seat - that way the world is wider and more flexible. When he was at Hogwarts, he always liked to pick his favorite students, sometimes because Their ambition or their intellect, sometimes their charm or their talent, and he had an uncommon knack for picking out those who would go on to excel in various walks of life. Horace built a Club, made up of his favorite pupils. He lets them know each other, makes useful connections, and always ends up with some sort of benefit, be it a free box of his favorite pineapple preserves, or the chance to contact the goblin recommend a clerk."

Immediately, a big fat spider appeared in Harry's mind. It spun a thread here, a thread there, and formed a web around its body, attracting delicious and juicy flies to it. .

"I tell you this," continued Dumbledore, "not to antagonize you against Horace - we must now call him Professor Slughorn - but to keep you on your toes. He certainly Will come to win you over, Harry. You will be the jewel in his collection: The Boy Who Lived...or, as they call you these days, 'The Savior.' Of course, as the youngest Merlin in history As far as Hilbert Shafik, who is also a second-class medal recipient, Horace will not let him go."

"Well, Harry, are you going to Shafik Manor or the Burrow?"

"Uh...it's so late, I'd better not bother Mrs. Shafik, go to the Burrow."

(End of this chapter)